


Lullaby

by Wolfcry22



Category: IT - Stephen King, IT Chapter 2
Genre: AU, Caretaking, Comfort, Fever, Fluff, M/M, Movie: IT Chapter Two (2019), Nightmares, Sick Character, Sick Richie Tozier, Sickfic, lullaby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-13 00:01:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21485017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfcry22/pseuds/Wolfcry22
Summary: Richie is sick with a high fever and Eddie runs his fingers through Richie’s hair while humming a song for him until he falls asleep.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 6
Kudos: 188





	Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> Just a small one shot from a prompt that I saw on Tumblr. Richie sick and Eddie comforting him. 
> 
> Prompt-Character B is feverish and can’t sleep, but Character A runs a cool hand through sweaty hair and hums a lullaby until they fall asleep.
> 
> Richie is character B and Eddie is Character A

Eddie grunted as he felt something shift beside him and a foot collided with the back of his calf. He squinted his eyes in the darkness as he rolled over and looked down to the shivering, whimpering mass of Richie Tozier laying beside him.

“Rich,” Eddie questioned as he reached over and rested a hand on Richie’s forehead. He nearly withdrew from the heat with a hiss of surprise.

Richie had come down with a horrible flu a few days before. He had come home from one of his performances hacking up a lung and swaying on his feet. Eddie had banished Richie to bed and he had hoped that Richie would have recovered by then, but Richie only seemed to get worse. Eddie had forced Richie to go to a local clinic and they told him that he had strep and that a high fever was to be expected. That had been two days ago and the night prior Richie had been fine, so Eddie thought that they had escaped the dangerous fever stage. However, Eddie was beginning to see that that wasn’t true.

“Rich,” Eddie repeated as he reached out his hand and grasped Richie’s shoulder. His thin t-shirt was drenched in sweat and it took everything that Eddie had in him not to grimace in disgust. “Richie, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”

Eddie could hear a few words on Richie’s lips and he didn’t like any of them. Pennywise was thrown out there as well as Eddie’s name and death. Eddie was sure that Richie was dreaming about when he thought that he had lost Eddie at the Neibolt house. Eddie hadn’t seen exactly how it had effected Richie until he had been found a few days later. Richie had been overly emotional and latched onto Eddie as soon as he saw him. They had moved in soon after and Richie hadn’t spoken much about how he felt when thought Eddie had died. Now it seemed that Richie was having a nightmare about that day. 

Eddie grasped harder against Richie’s shoulder and shook him heavily. “Richie!”

Richie gave a harsh intake of breath as he spun around and glanced at Eddie. Eddie saw sweat dripping down his face, causing his bangs to be plastered against his face. Sweat collected on his upper lip and beads rolled down from his forehead. “Eddie,” Richie rasped.

“I’m here. You were having a nightmare,” Eddie explained as he tugged a bit at the bottom of his shirt around Richie’s torso. “Your fever is spiking. I can’t give you any more medicine, but you should take off this shirt before you become chilled.”

Reluctantly, Richie grasped the bottom of his shirt feebly. He groaned as he sat up and pulled the sticky t-shirt over his head. He balled it up and tossed it aside on the floor before sliding back down into the covers with his head rested on his pillow. 

Without his shirt, the chills seemed to grip him even more. He gritted his teeth as he pulled the blanket tighter around him as he shook in cold. Richie set his jaw painfully to keep from chattering while he wrapped his arms around him.

“What’s going on,” Eddie asked in an attempt to make Richie at least feel a little better. 

Richie sniffed in pain. “My muscles ache,” Richie confessed with his eyes squeezed shut. “A-And I’m hot and cold at the same time. My throat hurts and I-I’m congested. It hurts when I breathe and when I cough. It just sucks.”

Eddie tired not to sigh so that Richie wouldn’t know how worried he was for him. He looked up to the wall and saw that it was only 2 in the morning. It was way too early to try and get Richie up and Eddie needed him to go back to sleep. However, he wasn’t going to without Eddie doing something to help him.

“Just try and relax,” Eddie urged as he lifted his hand and started to threat his fingers through Eddie’s curly hair. He massaged his fingers against Richie’s scalp as he crept ever closer to Richie to provide as much warmth as possible.

Richie let out a weak cough as he tangled his legs with Eddie’s. Eddie allowed him to as he continued to murmur soothing words while massaging Riche’s scalp. It’s hadn’t been easy for Richie and Eddie wanted to do everything in his power to ease at least some of it.

“Do you want to talk about the nightmare,” Eddie offered after a few moments of silence.

Richie bristled. “No,” he answered shortly without anymore explanation.

Eddie set his jaw to stop himself from pressing. It was clear that Richie didn’t want to talk about it and Eddie had to respect his wishes. “Okay, then we don’t have to,” Eddie answered as he shifted a bit to be in a more comfortable position to reach Richie’s head as he continued the massage almost aimlessly. He made a mental note to try and ask him about the nightmare when he was a little more lucid, but he was sure that the answer would remain the same. Richie was guarded, even from Eddie. It was something that they were working on, but took nearly as much time as Eddie working through all of his phobias. 

Richie suddenly gave a harsh cough into his pillow before groaning in the aftermath. His body gave another harsh shudder as the shivers continued to work their way down his spine. Eddie swore that he could feel it and his heart went out to his partner.

Then, with Eddie’s hand still on Richie’s head and his fingers still massaging his scalp, Eddie began to hum comfortingly to a tune that was in his head. His hum was soft, but in the near silent room, it could be heard easily to Richie. 

Richie stiffened in surprise as Eddie continued to massage his head. “Are you humming Renegades?”

Eddie struggled not to laugh. “It’s the first song that came into my head, dumbass. Besides, I know that you secretly love it even if you won’t say anything. Now, just listen and relax. If you want to fight this fever then you need to get some real rest.”

Richie huffed. “Easier said than done,” he responded, but his eyes were already starting to close and his shivers seemed a little more controlled in Eddie’s eyes.

Eddie continued to hum softly while bringing his fingers through the soft curls. Although Richie had showered the day before, his hair was still slightly tangled. He then worked his fingers back against the scalp and started to hum the chorus of the song that had been in his mind for days since Richie played it so much.

After what felt like hours, Richie’s body finally completely relaxed and his raspy breathing deepened as heavy snores rose up from Richie. He was still feverish, but he was no longer having violent full body shivers. Relief rushed through Eddie to see Richie lulled to sleep at least for the time being.

“Get some sleep,” Eddie whispered before leaning forward and kissing the back of Richie’s head before drawing back and still working his fingers through his hair. 

The room grew quiet except for Richie’s snores and Eddie’s hum. The two of them laid side by side as a feeling of content rushed over both of them. Only then did Eddie close his eyes and fall sound asleep with the man that he loved right beside him.


End file.
